Haiku Ellipses...Invitation...Response...

EYES WITHIN see the eyes within the many creatures lurking within the belly inside the belly is our core center, our hara, and our "gut intelligence" made of many micro-organisms...some are friendly creatures (good bacteria like in sauerkraut and probiotic products) and unfriendly creatures (harmful bacteria from animal flesh and dairy products)...the creatures are all looking and lurking, waiting to be fed and to feast...we need to feed the good creatures that support our well being and starve out the other ones. the practice is a hard one for most...it involves aligning one's diet with optimal well-being and health, to be compassionate and kind to our body...nutritionally, this translates into a plant-based diet supplemented with vitamin B-12 (the only vitamin we can't get from plants--B-12 is a bacteria from the soil that is artificially added to many products...one can get enough B-12 from commercial nut milk for instance)...conduct a search using your favorite br...

CELLULAR crazy kind of stuff makes no sense when drawing it life inside a cell the living of life day to day often doesn't make sense to me...many times life feels like "crazy kind of stuff"...and yet, looking back, writing in my journal, or at in-between moments when i have cause to PAUSE...i sense/see/feel something...in this case, at the micro level, i see life inside a cell, but it can also be at the macro level, the pieces of life from past/present/future that fit together, as the parts of a cell that fit together, that need each other in their interdependent being. allow yourself a few moments of peace and quiet (as best you can, depending on your circumstances...moms with little ones may only find solace in the bathroom for a few minutes, or in the wee hours of the night or morning) and zoom out (or into) of your life...what do you see/sense/feel...does it look like crazy stuff...life within the cellular?

GR EA T GA TH ER IN G the great gathering of multicolored loose ends unmanageable there are a vast number of loose ends in my life...multi-colored, multi-lengths, multi-topics, multi-levels of concern...when i attempt to gather them (the great gathering--the first part of Eugene Gelden's book Focusing speaks of saying hello to ourselves and asking how's it going...gathering the threads of life and choosing one to focus on), i find it unmanageable... too big, too complex, too difficult to pull all the strings together into something coherent and meaningful. i'm harvesting my journals since high school (i just turned 64 last month) and find that the attempt to gather the various strings (learnings) from the journals is one way to approach the "great gathering"--it's an arduous process to re-read and discern what parts of my life are lessons worthy of passing on to the next generation, and, even though i find it unmanageable, i need to do it, for myself, and fo...

UNFULFILLED DESIRE reaching out to touch stretching...trying to connect unfulfilled desire despite our best efforts, sometimes, our desire is unfulfilled...even if we reach, stretch, and try to connect...we can still be left empty and unfulfilled...we can also learn something in the process...perhaps our desires were not aligned with our deeper values, or maybe the timing is off, or others may choose not to reciprocate, or we may not have the ability to communicate what we really need, or we need to regroup and sharpen our skills or build our resources or... consider some event in the recent past where you really tried to stretch yourself to reach a goal, but it ended in "failure"...you didn't win...the competition, the promotion, the raise, the grade, the date, the bid on a project, the illness...it isn't a failure if you learned something...consider what learnings you may have gained through this loss...perhaps, in the long run, it wouldn't be best for you, per...

SPINNING VORTEXES spinning vortexes different and connected flowing energy the chakras (pronounced "chuck-rahs") are spinning vortexes shaped like spherical-funnels that begin inside the body and extend past the skin as depicted in several eastern religions/philosophies (e.g., Hinduism and Buddhism)...each chakra is associated with a different color...herein i show the main chakras along the central axis of the body...there are many more minor chakras located throughout the body...note the interconnectedness of the chakras that allow for the flow of energy (chi or prana). visualize each colored spinning vortex of energy from the violet colored chakra at top of the head at the crown, to purple between the eyes, blue at the throat, green at the heart, yellow at the solar plexus, orange at the navel, and red at the genitals and perineum...bring conscious attention to these areas with the appropriate colors one by one for 5-60 seconds each...then, allow and feel the energy flowin...

CO LO RE D B AL LS colored balls galore swirling vortexes reveal chakra alignment many individual balls can be swirling in our lives...all at the same time! attempting to manage and juggle the various balls is challenging...stepping back from observing each individual ball to the wider constellation of balls, there is some sense that the colored balls are interconnected, each spinning in relation to the others, many micro orbits creating a one macro orbit (which is in turn, part of another larger orbit, ad infinitum)...in this case of the many colored balls, there is a chakra alignment of energies within the body. take a few minutes to read about or watch a video, by a credible source with education and experience, on the chakras...meditate a few minutes on how your individual chakras FEEL, and then on how they FEEL together as a whole system of energy...do any of the chakras feel "out of alignment"...if so, what simple thing can you do in the next 5 mins to bring one of them...

GEMSTONE inside the gemstone cut in 1/2...exposed to all bright rings of color have you ever seen a gemstone that was cut in half? exposed and vulnerable to all? revealing all its brightness and color? there are times when we might feel "cut in half, exposed, vulnerable"--can you see all the colors revealed by the cutting? what is the lesson here? time and life experience do their own cutting and revealing...some try to force or encourage this cutting through different methods of enlightenment like kundalini awakening through manipulating the breath, visualization, and postures...so far for me on the journey, i'm opting for the more natural path of letting life experience and time do its own cutting and revealing...life provides ample opportunities for growth through suffering, pain, illness, depression, and so forth...no need to intentionally add more cuttings. in circumstances where you felt cut, burned, otherwise injured, what life lesson s emerged...and if none, have ...

GRANDMA'S DOILEE half of a circle holding hands with the other half see grandma's doilee my grandmother on my father's side used to make doilees...i have one such doilee that she gave to me in my meditation space...the first half of the doilee circle in the haiku represents my grandma, and all of my ancestors from the past, the other half of the doilee circle represents myself in the present, intentionally reaching out to hold hands with the ancestors, one of which is my grandma...who i am reminded of with gratitude and love every time i see the colorful doilee. what item(s) remind you of your mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, or caretaker? choose one item that symbolizes your connection with them...hold this item in your hands for at least one minute, feel the timeless connection to them, and gratefully acknowledge their presence in your life by placing the item in a prominent place where you can see it each day, and send them love and gratitude, for a week or more...

INSIDE THE COSMIC EGG 2 dialoguing  cool water and warmth of sun in the cosmic egg 2 colored figures stand facing each other, above is warm sun shining on their dialogue, below are blue waters of cool nourishment, ebbing and flowing in rhythm to their dialogue, and surrounding them is the cosmic egg, containing their dialogue, connecting them to the entire universe... consider adding some warmth, some sunshine to your next conversation...also consider ways to refresh and invigorate the conversation like cool water (lemonade on a hot day), allowing for ebb and flow, give and take, nurturing and being nurtured, recalling that we all share the same home, planet, cosmic egg...

CORKSCREWING AROUND corkscrewing around 1 following into other doesn't seem to end corkscrewing around reminds me of the phrase my grandfather used to use, putzing around, or the phrase the writer Kurt Vonnegut used, farting around...a kind of meandering, with a loose intent, but mostly just being in motion, alert to whatever appears, following one desire to the next, and the process of corkscrewing doesn't seem to end (not like uncorking a wine bottle)...until you're called for dinner... do you have any moments in your life where you can simply explore without an agenda, open to whatever arises, pursuing whatever catches your fancy...take time for such a mini-adventure sometime this week...plan only the place and allow for ample time...let it be simple...in your house, backyard, neighborhood, park, forested area, beach...any place will do, the spirit of the exploration is what matters...